On Trade, Trump's Economically Destructive Version of 'Winning'

President Trump wants to win at trade—by which he means: the United States should export more than it imports. Economists have rightly criticized this view as antiquated mercantilism. The idea that the country is a business for which net exports are like net revenues is not just wrong, it is economically destructive. It's no surprise that President Trump's policies have caused the U.S. trade balance to get worse. His administration's mismanagement of trade policy is causing an unnecessarily sharp drop in the trade balance, leading to America being a bigger loser even under Trump's own terms.